Earlier this month it was National Pet ID Week (April 15th-21st). Having your pet with an identification tag is more than important, it can be life-saving!

Returning lost pets, as you have seen our Facebook page, can be more difficult than it has to be without an ID tag on your pet. Sometimes it has taken weeks to find the owner of one of the lost pets who have made their way to our clinic. However, if they had an identification tag they would have been returned much quicker (but thank goodness they were returned to their owners in the end!).

An additional step to take if you don’t much care for the jingle-jangle of an ID tag–get your pet microchipped. We always recommend both forms of identification. This is because the ID tag itself is very easily noticed and your neighbor or anyone finding your pet can easily see they are lost and can be easily returned (always put a reachable phone number on your pet’s tag). Just getting micro-chipped only is not easily noticed on the outside.

When you microchip your pet, a small rice-sized computer chip is inserted under the pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. As soon as the chip is implanted in your pet, we register that number here at the clinic. That number goes into their national database, where your information is linked to your pet. If you change addresses or phone numbers, this is easily changed (always keep this information updated).

Keep in mind any pet (even indoor pets) can get lost. Getting your pet proper identification in case this were to ever happen is being properly prepared for a swift return home. Our microchipping is not expensive and is a very fast procedure. No appointment is necessary.

Please have proper identification for your pet. You will thank us later!